Buyers embrace hybrids as fuel costs soar

There is little relief in sight for motorists as fuel costs continue to rise, but making a simple switch could save you thousands of dollars.

New-car buyers are embracing hybrid technology as petrol prices climb above $2 a litre and the conflict in the Middle East threatens to send them higher.

Sales of petrol-electric vehicles last month were up by almost 120 per cent on the same period last year, as supplies of the market-leading Toyota RAV4 hybrid began to return to normal.

So far this year, hybrid sales are up 17.5 per cent.

But sales figures don’t tell the whole story, as demand for hybrids continues to outstrip supply. There is a waiting list of roughly 18 months for the RAV4.

After years of having the hybrid market to itself, Toyota faces growing competition from the likes of Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Haval and Honda, who have all released petrol-electric SUVs this year.

Nissan has introduced a new hybrid version of its popular X-Trail to take on the Toyota RAV4 hybrid. Picture: Supplied.

Buyers are also increasingly switching to electric vehicles, which cost significantly more upfront but are much cheaper to run.

Electric vehicle sales are up 200 per cent in the first nine months of the year.

Between them, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and EVs have accounted for roughly one in six sales this year.

Some of the bigger hybrid SUVs are thousands of dollars cheaper to fuel each year than their petrol equivalents.

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Hyundai’s Santa Fe hybrid costs roughly $6800 more than the V6 petrol version but delivers $1350 a year in fuel savings, based on a bowser price of $2 and an average 15,000km a year.

If a motorist drives in the city most of the time, the savings are much bigger, at roughly $2500 a year.

The hybrid Santa Fe also has the advantage of all-wheel-drive, which typically costs about $3000 more.

Toyota’s hybrid RAV4 costs $2500 more than the standard model but uses 20 per cent less fuel on the official test. In the city, the hybrid uses roughly a third less fuel in urban driving, according to laboratory tests. In the real world, however, it can use up to half the fuel.

For a driver travelling the average 15,000km, the hybrid RAV4 costs roughly $390 a year less to run. If that same driver does most of their driving in the city, the savings are more like $690.

Chinese car makers are also adopting hybrid technology, which means lower prices for buyers.

Haval’s mid-size H6 hybrid SUV costs just $41,990, $6000 more than the standard petrol version.

The Haval H6 Hybrid is significantly cheaper than the market-leading Toyota RAV4. Picture: Supplied.

For those who can afford an electric vehicle, the annual running cost savings are even better.

Tesla’s Model Y starts from about $68,000 drive-away, roughly $10,000 more than the mid-range Toyota RAV4 XSE hybrid.

Tesla’s Model Y is the best selling SUV on the market. Picture: Mark Bean.

The Model Y costs about $18 to recharge at home (using 30c/kWh as a price guide). At a supercharger the cost doubles.

At $2 a litre, it will cost $110 to refill the RAV4 hybrid’s 55-litre fuel tank.

The Tesla will take you a claimed 455km on a full charge, while the RAV4 will travel a claimed 1145km.

That works out to roughly $4 per 100km ($8 using a supercharger) for the Tesla and $9.60 per 100km for the Toyota. The petrol RAV4 costs about $12 per 100km.

The economics of switching to electric power have improved recently, as smaller SUVs and hatchbacks from Chinese car makers arrive with prices around the $40,000 mark.

Originally published as Buyers embrace hybrids as fuel costs soar